BMW F10 F12 M5 M6 Service & Maintenance

Servicing

Engine Oil Change every 5k or once a year depending on which occurs first, IF you are tracking or racing the car you may want to change after events, I recommend 5w 40 oil and genuine filter. I also use Motul 300v oil but this is a heavily opinionated choice and there is no right or wrong oil as long as quality oil is used. (car will take 8.5 litres on a change but buy 10litres so you have a top up when needed)

Gearbox Oil every 50k or 5 years depending on which occurs first, Use BMW or Motul DCT Fluid

Diff Oil every 10k (every second oil change) or every two years ( 75w 140) (takes 1.1litres)

Spark plugs every 15k or every two years these should be gapped at 0.022 of an inch unless hybrid turbo/ methanol setup. Use plugs NGK 97506 SILKZBR8D8S

Coil Packs every 25k or every 3 years. For euro 5 cars 2010-2014 Bosch 12138647689/ 0221504470, For euro 6 cars 2014-2017 Delphi 12138611236/ GN10765

Injectors I do not consider a serviceable item as whether new or old they can fail regardless of mileage that said part number for euro 5 is 13647599876 & euro 6 13538627842 with both requiring decoupling element 13537577649. I do not consider this a DIY job due to the amount of grit that can fall into the cylinder when injector is removed, the fact it needs coding and that a removal tool is needed for correct extraction, Also the fact this is a 200bar fuel pressure system leaves little room for user error on install.

Panel Filter every 10k or two years, When changing filter do not use k&n as they are too oily and contaminate maf sensors causing misfire. Either use oem paper filter bank 1 13727843284/ bank 2 13727843283 or go with bmc filter, eventuri filter or an after market intake such as project gamma or eventuri. Do not do the ramair foam filter conversion this always results in maf that are are covered in dust, grit and dirt and dyno has shown on average a 20bhp drop. When changing filters whether oem or after market always visually inspect the maf sensors for contamination, this is a very sensitive component and prone to causing lean issues, misfires and rough running. Maf sensors are a bosch component with part number 0280218266

For brakes I recommend replacing discs with oem again and for those using the car for street use genuine bmw pads all around Front pads 34112284465/ Rear pads 34212284389. For those using their car for race or track use keep oem on the rear but Pagid rs29 front pads E4934RS29 are a better choice on the front although can be noisy.

For tyres I personally use Michelin 4s tyres all around 265 on the front and 305 on the rear, Cold pressures I recommend are 34psi front & 30psi rear to help with traction. A cheaper alternative is the vredestein ultrac vordi r which offer similar grip but at a much lower cost (our 2018 vmax record was set on these) For road use I do not recommend R888R as its near impossible to keep the required heat in the tyres to make them beneficial over the 4s.

Info for care/ use of car

Best way to reduce engine wear and damage is to start the car let idle for 20-30 seconds and then drive straight away in a gentle manner until the oil temp gauge on the dash has moved from its lowest point ( I aim for 80c) in this way the engine is not idling for a long time with lower oil pressure and taking longer to warm up and is instead keeping oil pressure high, allowing the engine to warm faster and also warming other parts of the vehicle such as gearbox, diff and tyres also.

Full throttle at low rpm puts a lot of torque through the engine and increases stress on rods and clutch, it also creates lag for the turbos, for this reason I recommend that if you want to go full throttle and are at 3k or less you drop down a gear to bring the revs up, I personally go full power from 4k onwards which is exactly 12 o clock on the speedo, this also gives less chance of full loss of control if you break traction as hitting the limiter due to traction loss in a lower gear will result in keeping the wheelspin speed closer to the vehicle speed ie 7k in 3rd is around 30-40mph lower than 7k in 4th

This may seem obvious but do not rev the engine hard when parked up when cold and at no temperature should the car be held on the limiter when parked up as this will likely cause engine damage.

When driving aggressively always use 3 bars on the gearbox setting (D3/ S3) in the lower modes there is less pressure on the clutch and is more prone to wear

For best speed and power on stock turbos short shift at 6.5k not past 7k rpm as after 6.5 you are past the engines peak power range

Always use 99ron fuel like v power or tesco momentum these fuels allow the car to make the most power and decrease the risk of knock, please be aware most petrol stations premium fuels are only 97ron.

Common myths

Cold start is good for the engine – Cold start is purely to warm the catalytic converters up fast for emission reasons, It is arguably detrimental to engine health on start up & if the car is decatted there is no reason other than the noise to leave it active



Fitting a 90c water thermostat for cooler engine running – Our engines coolant and oil temperature are controlled by the engine ecu’s (there are two), A perfect example of this is putting the car into sport plus mode will cause the ecus to request a lower engine temp and will quickly reduce

Its better to use 10 50w oil – The engine was not designed to run on this thick of an oil and with all bmw m engines having a reputation for bearing wear is it wise to go from 30 to 50 when we need to make sure the oil is thin enough to coat get through the small areas to lubricate the bearings and other engine parts. In my opinion no unless the engine is built with its specs checked to suit that oil.

The car is limited to 155mph – The car from factory on its top speed limiter will achieve 167mph on the dash.





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